"Kageto Shirobane and Makoto Watanabe," he said in a soft tone. "It's strange to see you here."
"I could say the same to you, Chief," Lloyd replied, staring him dead in the eye. "What brings someone like you to the slums?"
He met his stare with one of his own.
"I was doing an undercover survey on the increasing gang violence in the area," he replied.
"Surely you aren't at a loss for subordinates to do this kind of work for you," Lloyd said as he took a step toward him.
"When it comes to these sorts of things, those in charge have to see what is happening with their own eyes, don't you think?" Nishimura said, his soft tone turning hostile.
"A trait you'll need to learn if you ever want to progress in our line of work."
A long stretch of silence followed as the two simply stood glaring at each other.
"So are you just going to let him walk away?" Lloyd finally asked.
"There is no need to catch someone we didn't see, is there?" he replied stone-faced.
"What do you mean?"
"These two men here," Nishimura said, pointing to two of the three bodies lying on the ground, "crossed one of the richest merchants in town and stole from him."
"It seems they couldn't agree on how to share their spoils," he said, turning away from them, "and killed each other."
Then he turned to the third corpse and said, "They even dragged an innocent bystander into it. What a tragedy."
"This is exactly the kind of violence I've come here to survey," he said as he brushed past Lloyd. "It's a shame that we weren't fast enough to stop it."
"Is this justice?" Lloyd asked without turning around.
Nishimura stopped.
"Are you still unable to see the line, Kageto Shirobane?"
"I thought by now it would've been clear."
"Look at your friend here," he said, turning to Makoto. "He's saying nothing because he doesn't have a naive view of the world like you do."
He started walking away.
"Think carefully about whether you can open your eyes to the true reality we live in, or else you can just leave."
Lloyd clenched his fists so tightly that the veins in his hands looked ready to burst.
Nishimura turned to Makoto and asked, "What are we terming this as, Watanabe?"
He turned his head away and replied, "Triple homicide, sir."
"Good," he said as he continued walking away. "And make sure you clean up this mess too."
He walked out of the alley and disappeared around the corner as the two of them watched.
Makoto knelt down beside the bodies.
"So you're just going to stand there too and do nothing?" Lloyd asked.
"What about what you told me?"
"I'm sorry, Kageto," he said downcast, "but I can't go against him."
"Why?!" Lloyd yelled furiously. "Didn't you say you wanted a change? So why?"
"I know, okay?!" he yelled back. "I know this makes me a hypocrite, but I can't afford to lose this. Not now."
Lloyd's furious expression turned to confusion.
"When I was younger, I had no direction. I was just a bum with no vision in life. The only thing I had was the girl I loved, but her family rejected me and made her join the shrine."
"That was when I decided that I would change myself so that they would accept me before it was too late," he continued.
"Now I have a steady life and an actual future, and they finally accepted my proposal. It will be just a few months before I can see her again."
"I can't afford to lose it all now," he said, gripping his snare pole tightly. "That is why I can't."
"This has happened to you before, hasn't it?" Lloyd asked as he looked down at him, but he didn't respond.
"Then at least tell me the truth!" he yelled. "I deserve to know what it is they're hiding."
"Tell me the true nature of the Doshin and the shrine. Whatever it is that's lurking in this town!"
"I don't know," he replied. "All I do know is that they are connected somehow."
Lloyd snapped.
"What would she think of you if she saw you now?"
A long silence followed.
When Makoto finally spoke, he said, "I know that I'm not perfect. That is why I want to change."
"I promise that I will make up for this," he said as he stood up. "Just you watch."
---
That night, in the meeting room of the council, the six of them sat sipping wine from lavish cups and laughing at the tops of their lungs.
Among them, one bald old man seemed the most drunk as he struggled to even stay seated upright.
"Tell me, Mr. Tanaka, whatever happened to those rats who stole from your house?" one of them asked the old man.
"Oh, them," he said, suddenly remembering them. "I hear they killed each other over the loot. Can you believe it?"
"Greed is a dangerous thing, isn't it, gentlemen?" he said as he chugged down another cup.
"Where did you hear this?" another asked.
"From Chief Nishimura himself," he replied boastfully.
"How did you get a terrifying man like him to do your dirty work?" the merchant sitting beside him asked in shock.
"I didn't get him to do anything," he said. "All I did was tell him that they stole some documents containing secret information from our meetings, and he just happened to come across the horrid sight."
"You're skating on thin ice, Tanaka," one of them said after taking a sip from his cup. "If he finds out you deceived him, you're finished."
"It was a simple agreement between men," he replied. "There's nothing to be worried about."
"I'm sure he knew and couldn't care less," one of them said. "He just went there in case it was true."
"Fair point," the old man said as he raised his cup. "But enough of that. We haven't had a drink together in a long time. We've wrapped up all our work today, so let's cut loose."
The drinking continued as the men chatted about their businesses, families, and even listened to the older men recount stories of their pasts.
Just as the chatter continued, the wooden door to the room slid open and a cloaked man stepped through.
All the chatter stopped almost simultaneously as the man took off his hood.
They knew this man well. Well enough that his presence alone sobered them up.
Keitaro Kobayashi.
The personal guard to Sayo Kiyohara, the Shrine Priestess.
"Master Kobayashi, what brings you here this fine evening?" Tanaka asked nervously.
"I have come here on behalf of my mistress to tie up any loose ends when it comes to this particular case," he replied.
"There is no need to worry, Master," another of the merchants said. "Rest assured, our verdict was carried out and they have already left—"
"That isn't what I meant," he said, cutting him off.
"In regard to this loose-mouthed Suzuki," he continued, "I personally found him after he left the town and gave him the punishment you denied him."
"And what would that have been?" Tanaka asked, gulping.
"Death, of course," he replied with a straight face.
"What about his daughters?" one merchant asked.
"I couldn't leave any witnesses now, could I?" he replied. "Which brings me to the final part of my mission: facing you all."
"Please have mercy on us, Master. We haven't done anything wrong," one of them pleaded.
"Yes, you are correct," he said in a calm tone. "But let his fate act as a warning."
He held out his hand and flicked his finger toward the gourd of booze. It shattered in an instant.
"Do you see now?" he said as they all shuffled away from him. "Your pampered laws will do nothing to protect you from our wrath."
He turned to leave, saying,
"I believe I've made myself clear."
"Tread carefully, sirs," he said, putting his hood back on. "Or I will litter the streets with your bodies."